June 22, 2018. Louisville, KY. – The Kentucky Derby Festival Foundation Charity Module Program raised over $158,000 in 2018 for local charities. 31 different charitable organizations benefitted from the program by having individual runners and running teams participate in the 2018 Kentucky Derby Festival miniMarathon and Marathon Presented by Humana on April 28. The Charity Module has raised over $2.6 million since its inception in 2005.
The charities will be recognized at a luncheon on Tuesday, June 26, at the Hunting Creek Country Club at 11:30 a.m. A check will be presented to all organizations for the money they raised over the course of the 2018 Charity Module Program.
The Catholic Charities of Louisville – Bakhita Empowerment Initiative increases public awareness of human trafficking cases and takes action through community collaboration, as well as training of professionals. It will be recognized as the “Charity of the Year” for 2018, which is determined by the best charity to administer the program through recruitment, retention and fundraising. 2018 was the third consecutive year Catholic Charities of Louisville participated in the program. The group has raised more than $18,000 since first getting involved.
Coverage Note: The luncheon event is open to the media. It will begin at 11:30 a.m.; the check presentation will take place at approximately 12:30 p.m. Jami Wilson from the Bakhita Empowerment Initiative will serve as the guest speaker.
The following organizations were Official Charity Partners of the 2018 KDF road races: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital – ALSAC, Alzheimer’s Association, American Printing House for the Blind, Catholic Charities of Louisville – Bakhita Empowerment Initiative, Boys & Girls Clubs of Kentuckiana, Cure CF Inc., Cure SMA, Families For Effective Autism Treatment of Louisville, Gilda’s Club, Girls Rock Louisville, Hope Scarves, House of Ruth, James Graham Brown Cancer Center, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Kentucky Animal Relief Fund, Kosair Charities, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, The Lord’s Kitchen, The Molly Johnson Foundation, Noah Stylin’ – Erdheim-Chester Disease, Parkinson Support Center, Rettsyndrome,org, Shamrock Pet Foundation, Summit Academy, Twisted Pink, Uspiritus, Youth For Christ Louisville and Waterstep.
The charities were assisted by the Kentucky Derby Festival Foundation, the Derby Festival’s charitable arm. The KDF Foundation established criteria for organizations to be recognized as Official Charity Partners of the races and Foundation board members and volunteers were assigned as liaisons to help coordinate the fund-raising efforts.
The Kentucky Derby Festival Foundation, a 501 C 3 not-for- profit charity, receives and manages charitable contributions on behalf of the Kentucky Derby Festival, Inc., its supporters and the general public. The Foundation perpetuates the Festival’s impact on the community by developing projects that highlight the Festival’s influence on the area’s cultural heritage. It works to further the Festival’s educational and charitable mission through exhibitions and performances.
